Miller Children’s Hospital to Receive $476,516 for Training Pediatricians and Other Doctors

Congresswoman Laura Richardson announced that Miller Children’s Hospital has been awarded $476,516 by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services for its Graduate Medical Education Program. The program allows the hospital to both increase staff size and to provide a valuable service to young doctors training for pediatrics.

“This grant is great news for Miller Children’s Hospital, young medical professionals going into pediatrics and all of the children and families who depend on its services to be healthy and strong,” Congresswoman Richardson said. “I am a longtime supporter of Miller Children’s Hospital, which is the largest full-services children’s hospital in California, and I know these funds will be well-used and have a major impact on the health of the children of the 37th Congressional District.”

Graduate Medical Education Program grants are given to freestanding children’s hospitals to support the training of pediatric and other residents in graduate medical educationprograms. This program compensates for the disparity in the level of Federal funding for teaching hospitals for pediatrics versus other types of hospitals.

For 2010, Miller Children’s Hospital has received $4,664,414 from this program, which represents a 5.07 percent increase over the 2009 amount. “For a community to thrive, it needs trained doctors and other medical professionals to take care of us when we’re sick, have accidents or just need a routine check-up,” Congresswoman Richardson added. “That’s why grants like this are so vital; they improve the quality of the hospitals and medical staff they serve while at the same time strengthening the communities where they are located.”

Congresswoman Richardson is a Democrat from California’s 37th Congressional District. She is a member of the House Committees on Transportation & Infrastructure and Homeland Security and is chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response. Her district includes Long Beach, Compton, Carson, Watts, Willowbrook and Signal Hill.